Tempe Councilman Kolby Granville was fired from Tempe Preparatory Academy in December 2017 over allegations that he gave former underage students alcohol and made unwanted sexual advances toward one.
Wochit

A third woman has come forward with allegations of misconduct against Tempe City Councilman Kolby Granville that she said happened shortly after she graduated from the school where he taught.

The woman in late January filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, detailing incidents with Granville that "made me feel violated, intimidated and uncomfortable."

Granville was fired from the teaching job at Tempe Preparatory Academy in December after two otherwomen who were former Tempe Prep students complained to the school, alleging he gave them alcohol when they were younger than 21, and one said he made unwanted sexual advances toward her.

The 43-year-old Granville has acknowledged a relationship with one of the two women who complained to the school, which he said began when she was in college. He has denied the remainder of the two women's allegations.

The most recent complaint states that the former student told a teacher about Granville's unwanted sexual advances shortly after she says they happened in 2013. In the complaint, she expresses concern that school officials didn't take action then.

"This belittled my experience and made me second guess coming forward not only to the school, but others," she said in the recent complaint.

The Republic could not reach thatteacher, who no longer works at the school,for comment Monday.

School officials said they are looking into the matter.

At this time, Tempe Preparatory Academy “does not have any reason to believe that the complaints regarding Mr. Granville of which TPA is now aware were made to TPA faculty members, or that such faculty members failed to report those complaints to school administration," a statement from the school said.

School officials said they were "deeply dismayed" to learn that another former student has come forward with allegations.

"Although none of these reports have involved current students, or allegations of inappropriate conduct while these individuals were students at TPA, we take all such reports seriously," the school said in a statement.

The statement goes onto say that the recent complaint confirms the school's "swift action to terminate Mr. Granville’s employment was the right decision."

Tempe Prep Board member Chad Sampson said in a separate statement on Monday that "Mr. Granville's reported actions are repugnant and have hurt these women, his former colleagues, and the school he claims to love."

Granville declined comment on the third complaint.

"There is nothing I can say about anything at this point. I’m totally on lockdown from my attorney," he said.

Complainant 'deeply disturbed' by Granville's behavior

The woman, now a 22-year-old student at Arizona State University, spoke with The Republic, which typically does not identify victims of alleged sex crimes.

She said she was introduced to Granville in August 2013 by a teacher at the school because she was planning a trip to Europe. The teacher suggested the young woman speak with Granville as he had experience traveling abroad, according to the complaint.

The woman alleges Granville invited her to his house in September 2013 to eat ice cream and discuss her upcoming travel. She accepted and the two went to the roof to talk. After several minutes of conversation, he asked her to lay her head on his chest, the complaint said.

"When I appeared to take too long to think about it, he said it wasn't a big deal and pulled me closer," she said in the complaint. He then began to talk "in detail" about his sexual experiences, which she said made her feel uncomfortable.

He kept taking her hand and putting it on his chest; she would pull it away and he would put it back, the complaint alleges.

When she told Granville she had to leave, he asked her if she was 18, according to the complaint. She told him she wasn't. She was 17 at the time.

"Well that shoots down my goodnight kiss idea," she alleges Granville said in reply.

Two months later, she said she met with Granville again at his home to return travel books she had borrowed. At this point she had turned 18.

Granville opened the door and told her to put the books on the table. After she did, she noticed he had closed the door and moved closer to her, according to the complaint.

He kissed her without consent, she alleges.

“I was pretty shocked he had done that,” she told The Republic, adding that she pushed him away.

She said she wanted to leave. But she said he moved in front of the door and told her he did not want her to leave yet. He put his hands on her upper arm while slightly touching her chest and kissed her again without her consent, according to the complaint.

“Just the look in his eyes made me feel really scared,” she said to The Republic.

She said she told him again that she thought she should leave and made it clear she was uncomfortable.

Her complaint says Granville replied that "maybe I should leave before we both 'do something we regret.' "

Woman: School made right decision to fire Granville

About a month later, the woman said she told the same teacher who had recommended she ask Granville for travel advice about the incident.

"I recall her laughing off the incident, saying that it was weird but sounded like him," the complaint said.

“I felt I was asking her to do something and not just have it all on me," she told The Republic.

She added that she wished the school had done more at the time. Beyond her claim that she mentioned it to the teacher, she did not file a complaint with school officials then.

She did not take it further at the time because of Granville's leadership position in the Tempe community, she said.

“What do you do when that person is a teacher, an attorney and a city councilman?” she said about Granville.

She told The Republic the recent #MeToo movement prompted her decision to come forward.

“It gets me emotional sometimes," she said, and began to cry. "I felt like maybe I should have done something earlier.”

To this day, she said the experience with Granville has left her uncomfortable being alone in a room with an older man and it makes her feel "trapped."

She said the school made the right decision to fire Granville in the end.

She filed her complaint after seeing the two other women come forward to the school.

She said she wants the "full facts" of Granville's behavior to be known to employers where he might teach and to young people with whom he may interact.

What happens next?

The state charter board has asked the school for a written response to the complaint within 10 days, which is standard practice when the board receives complaints involving public charter schools.

It's not clear yet whether the state charter school board will take action beyond asking the school for a response to the complaint.

The charter board oversees more than 500 charter schools in Arizona.

Charter schools are independent public schools, and most operate separately from school districts with their own governing boards.